Questions To Ask When Shopping For A Lender

Know What Questions to Ask Your Mortgage Lender

A mortgage lender is the primary link for the majority of people searching to buy a home. While some individuals do indeed pay cash for a home, their numbers are quite low. Considering that the average home costs well over $120,000 in America, it is safe to say that this is a serious transaction that should be handled with great care. Here are some major questions any potential home buyer should ask their mortgage lender before signing up for a loan.

How many years have you worked as a mortgage lender?

It is important to understand that a mortgage lender is a profession just like accountancy, nursing and teaching. They all require certification which can only be obtained by completing a test and maintaining the certification through periodic additional classes.

What is the number of purchase transactions that you have completed?

Mortgage lending is like other professions in the fact that practitioners can choose to be a generalist or a specialist. Some people will choose to specialize in only FHA purchases or only Jumbo purchases. Others will do a little bit of everything from various types of purchases to reverse mortgages to investment home deals. As long as the person has considerable experience working with a buyer like you then you should be fine.

How many lenders can you access?

Some mortgage lenders only have one or two sources of loans at their disposal. Other lenders may have access to 10+ different lending organizations. If you have specific needs that can only be met by one or two types of loans it is important that your loan officer can find that type of loan for you.

Will you recommend the appraiser, home inspector and title agent?

An experienced loan officer will have a strong working relationship with various home inspectors and title agents in your local area. The appraiser might be chosen by the lender or it could be randomly chosen, depending on the type of loan that you need. In either case, your lender will be able to schedule these tasks on your behalf.

Will you provide me with updates as my loan moves through the various steps?

Every buyer has their own preferences about how and when they wish to be contacted with updates. Some people like to know every detail as soon as it happens. Others are content to sit back and wait to get the call to show up for the closing. Regardless of which method you prefer your lender should be able to communicate with you in a timely and concise manner.

What references can I contact to find out what others thing about your work?

This is likely the most important question. Once you have determined that the loan officer has the experience and capability to help you buy a home you now need to chat with some previous clients. Ask them as many questions as they are willing to answer about the lender. This will be the best source of information for you so take lots of notes.

In essence, you should consider this like a job interview where you are the hiring manager and the loan officer is the prospective employee. They will be working for you so you want to make sure they have your best interests at heart and that their track record demonstrates their ability to get the job done.

  • Contact us for more information
    (262) 305-0680
  • Fill out the form and a member of our team will contact you within 24 hours.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Filed under: Real Estate

Luke Skar

Luke Skar is the web developer and content strategist for MadisonMortgageGuys.com. Currently working for NRL Mortgage which serves 47 states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Florida. Guided by his 20-plus years of various mortgage marketing experience, Luke provides top-quality SEO services, effective social media management, and web development and maintenance. Luke’s career in the mortgage industry began back in 2001, as a loan processor. After becoming a loan officer for a number of years, Luke now runs madisonmortgageguys.com. To ensure that all the information he posts is fresh, accurate, and up-to-date, Luke relies on the knowledge which his years of dedication to keeping up with the constant change that the mortgage industry provides.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *